Review #92 Benchmark Old Number 8 Brand: Bourbon

Score: 6.2 / 10

Distillery: Buffalo Trace

Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Is this the benchmark of all whiskies? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! Still an allocated whiskey, as everything from the Buffalo Trace Distillery is, but not one of the best whiskey brands. As a bourbon sipper, this has no place in your collection at all. This is a quick mixing with coke whiskey, and even then you can do better with Evan Williams BIB, Maker's Mark or the original Buffalo Trace bourbon.

So after that intro, this did however win our $10 and under contest on the Po It Up podcast. If you would like to hear that episode live, you can find it here. What exactly does that mean? If you are really..... and I mean really are on a budget, this is the go to bourbon for mixing whiskies. Or, about the best you are going to be able to get if you are a bum on the street and need a quick warmup :)

Whiskey Review:

Nose: Sugar syrup, (like a "How it's made" assembly line). Ethanol and strong bubblegum overwhelms

Palate: Heavy ethanol, bubble gum dust. (ie no chewiness) and a slight charred oak to retain some generic bourbon notes

Finish: Starts out as a bubblegum taste and you expect it to dynamically change. It does not however, and ethanol begins to take over and linger

Score: 6.2

Scale:

S+ Sensational - The Pinnacle (9.5+)

A - AXEceptional (astounding) (9-9.5)

B - bravo (step aBove average) (8-8.9)

C - competent (7-7.9)

D - disappointing (6-6.9)

F - flush it down the toilet (fail) (5.9 below)

Notes: Availability? Common. Again, read the above. If this is your price cutoff that's ok. If you can even splurge a little bit, upgrade to Evan Williams BIB (white label) for $14-$17. The payoff is more than worth every penny!